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Another day, another Bollywood actress voicing her take on the word feminism. Lisa Haydon, who will be seen opposite Riteish Deshmukh and alongside Akshay Kumar and Abhishek Bachchan in “Housefull 3,” came into the limelight for her performance as an independent and fierce woman in the 2013 Kangana Ranaut starring breakout hit “Queen.”
In a recent interview with Times of India, she claimed that she disliked the overuse of the word ‘feminist.’ She believes feminism doesn’t mean women should try to be men. She also doesn’t believe in being outspoken ‘for the sake of it or just to prove a point.’
“Feminism is just an overused term and people make too much noise about it for no reason. Women have been given these bodies to produce children, and the spirit and tenderness to take care of people around us. It’s fine to be an outspoken and working woman. I don’t want to be a man. One day I look forward to making dinner for my husband and children. I don’t want to be a career feminist,” she said in the interview.
Career feminist?!?! Let’s take a second and look at the irony of her statements and Vijayalakshmi, the free-spirited character she played in “Queen,” which made her famous in the first place.
Of course, Haydon is allowed to speak her views on feminism as she pleases. However, to claim that women who identify as feminists want to be men is misguided. As this Quartz India story accurately points out, with statements like these, Haydon joins the list of Bollywood celebrities who make remarks without properly understanding the meaning of feminism.
The direct results of these stars, including Parineeti Chopra, Madhuri Dixit, Priyanka Chopra, Shilpa Shetty and more, avoiding this subject is that it stirs up controversies. They are all powerful, successful, and influential women. Each of them has stood up in their own right and gained fans. They are the very example of being equal to men, on and off screen. They are not “being men”!
It is surprising when they denounce or run away from the word feminism like it’s a real bad word. It’s not a tough-to-understand concept. The most simple definition? The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.
Do feminists hate men? NO.
Do feminists not want children? Of course, not!
Do feminists enjoy sex? Yes, if and when they want to.
Do feminists want to get married? Again, yes! If and when they want to.
The list continues. The myths continue. The understanding, however, is shoddy, to say the least.
Our hope is these actresses continue being the icons they are and acknowledge the F-word instead of running away from it (instead of giving reasons that correctly and actually equate them as being a feminist!)
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